Hey – Walker and Davis here.
Happy Saturday morning to the Laying Foundations community!
Everyone wants to deliver a project on time and under budget but oftentimes, that is just a goal with no substance. If you make quality a top priority on your jobsite you can guarantee you are minimizing the need for rework, which saves the team time and money.
Today’s issue takes about 4 minutes to read and was written for you by Davis Hambrick.
Enjoy.
Quote Of The Week
“A good plan violently executed now is better than a perfect plan executed next week.”
– United States Marine Core
I am a huge stickler for quality work.
I don’t like having to rip out work that is installed because the team or individual didn’t take the time to give the trade partner the correct information.
On a lot of job sites today, we are in the mindset of going non-stop without any detailed thought of flow. We move crews all over the job site because tasks need to get done but we don’t prioritize the sequence or we don’t take enough time explaining the detail of the work.
I have had to force myself on my current project to understand the flow and to constantly be studying shop drawings.
If I can’t communicate properly to a trade partner on how to perform the work then serious issues occur.
So, the question is how do I make sure quality is a top priority on my current project?
#1 – Develop A Plan
All good things start with a plan. Winston Churchill said, “He who fails to plan is planning to fail.”
At the beginning of every project, you need to get together with your project team and develop a job site quality control plan.
This plan will address responsibilities within the team, different phases of work, differences between deficient work and punch items, documenting the work, inspections, etc.
This plan will lay the groundwork for how the rest of the project runs. If you show up and half haphazardly go through just to check a box then the lack of quality will show on the project. If you show up and get serious and think about how can we as a team minimize rework and get the right information to the right people then you will be truly successful.
#2 – Get The Plan Out
After you create the plan you have to get the plan out. It does the project team no good if you develop this plan and put it in a binder to collect dust.
GET THE PLAN OUT OF YOUR HEAD
Spend time talking about the overall quality plan at every meeting you have. Remind the trade partners in Daily Huddles. Be intentional and go make sure the men and women installing the work get the plan. If every person on the job site knows the plan and is aligned together from the start you will see rework significantly drop.
Before a new trade partner arrives on site make sure in the initial meeting you talk about the trade-specific quality work plan. Find out who is going to manage quality for the trade partners. Bring up lessons learned from previous job sites that you remember having a rough time with. Establish and plan quality checks with the onsite foremen.
#3 – Establish Quality Checks
Quality checks can be one of the best sneak peeks into how a particular trade crew is going to perform.
Once a new trade crew is onsite installing new work, make sure to go check in with the crew and see how they are performing.
Is there anything jumping out to you as you walk up and see the work?
Are they using the right material? Do they have the right crew size?
Are they respecting other trades’ work while installing their own? Are they installing per plans and out of the way of other trades?
This is your opportunity to coach the tradesmen and women, but it is all about your delivery here. Find something they are doing a really good job at and share that with the group, and then show them something that isn’t up to the quality standard and coach them.
Don’t point fingers, and don’t insult them.
Show them the route you think would be best because of the work coming down the corridor. Show them the why and work together and check back in before the end of the day to see if they made the corrections. You would be amazed at the improvements teams can make just because you took the time to suggest a few ideas and delivered them thoughtfully.
It is lazy to yell at tradesmen because they just don’t get it. It takes effort to say to yourself, I didn’t communicate this plan well and now it is my turn to take ownership and properly train others. Always choose the latter.
#4 – Block Out Time For Quality Walks
In your daily schedule, make sure you spend 5 mins with each trades crew checking in on them.
These daily walks can be a game changer. You are establishing a time to make sure each crew has the information for the day to be successful and get to see the work up close.
If there are any issues with the work make sure to correct it with the foremen immediately. Don’t let one tiny problem cascade into several more issues down the line.
As you continue to have the walks daily, be a human and check on the people who are installing the work. Say their name, pat them on the back, ask them about their family, tell them about how they are doing a good job, and make them laugh.
If you show the tradesmen and women that you care about them, they will work to move a mountain for you. We are all human and value relationships daily, use these walks to maintain quality and boost morale on the job site.
Quality of the Week: Holistic – someone who looks at the entirety of a system, not just a symptom.
20 Year Old Self Advice: Earn the respect of others from the onset of the project.
Check out episode 106 on The Laying Foundations Podcast!
Join co-host’s Walker Lott & Davis Hambrick conversation about building financial principles at the start of your construction career. Finances are like anything else in your life, if you don’t have a plan it will be in disarray. The guys talk about 5 sound financial principles that will help you navigate towards financial freedom.
Have a written plan
Stick to a budget
Live off less than you make
Invest 15% of your income (at least)
Save 10% of your income (at least)
